Selena For Sanctuary, the Selena-themed concert designed to raise awareness for immigrant rights, is almost one week from making its New York City debut as part of Lincoln Center’s free Out of Doors series. The lineup already includes massive Latinx acts, including Mon Laferte, Nina Diaz, Cuco, Omar Apollo, August Eve, and Riobamba. However, the event has promised from the start to be bigger than ever — and to ensure that, some special guests have been added to the evening.
New additions include NPR Alt. Latino’s Felix Contreras, who will be hosting, and Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno, who will be gracing the stage alongside the other artists. For Selena diehards, there’s one more bit of news that promises to make the event an especially exciting time: Nina Diaz’s performance will feature a guest appearance by Chris Perez, Selena’s widower and the lead guitarist for Selena y Los Dinos.
Selena for Sanctuary is the brainchild of Los Angeles-based music manager Doris Muñoz, who started the event back in California to raise money for her undocumented parents’ legal fees. The New York City iteration will be completely free and offers an opportunity for attendees to get to know multiple different non-profit organizations that provide assistance to immigration causes. Amnesty International just announced it’s joining a lineup that also includes organizations like Voto Latino and Make the Road New York. While guests learn more about activism, the artists will perform Selena covers onstage, with musical direction from Adrian Quesada.
In an interview with Remezcla last month, Muñoz shared her hopes that for the event to provide the opportunity for Latinx communities to “ link arms and fight the good fight. We can do this while enjoying a beautiful night of music for our immigrant communities, at a prestigious platform like Lincoln Center, where our community deserves a seat at this table,” she said. “This couldn’t come at a better time.”
Selena for Sanctuary takes place at New York City’s Lincoln Center on July 26 at 7:30 p.m. For more info, check the flyer below or click here.
Update, 7/18/2018, 3:40 p.m.: This post has been updated to include information on newly added host Felix Contreras.